Gone
by Nightengale
Summary: By the time they catch up in the Cortina Sam’s car is in the river almost completely under water. The pouring rain isn’t helping the situation and Gene almost slips on the soaked grass in his hurry to get out of the car.


By the time they catch up in the Cortina Sam's car is in the canal almost completely under water. The pouring rain isn't helping the situation and Gene almost slips on the soaked grass in his hurry to get out of the car.

"Gov, wait!" he hears Ray shout but he doesn't listen, already racing toward the water.

The car Sam was chasing is no where in sight and Gene makes a note in the back of his head through the panic to find those fucking cock suckers if he has to beat every slime in the city to get his hands around their necks. Gene charges toward the canal, determined to get to Sam even if he has to swim to the car.

"Sam!" he shouts as he reaches the edge. "Sam!"

He can't think of what else to do. It's all just blind panic and terror because he can't see Sam anywhere. He's not on the bank, not swimming through the water, not even struggling against the current trying not to drown. Through the blur of the gray rain, try as Gene might to will Sam's figure to appear, he's nowhere. Sam is just not there and Gene refuses to believe it. He will not let himself think that Sam's already at the bottom of the canal, already dead and gone. There is just no fucking way.

Gene is all but ready to jump off the ledge and into the canal below when arms grab him from behind, dragging him away from the rain-slick edge.

"Let me go!" He shouts, screams at Ray and Chris holding him back. "Fucking let go of me! Let me go!"

"Calm down, Gov, yea can't do anything!" Ray shouts over the sound of the rain.

Gene struggles a bit more then gives up because he knows Ray is right. Jumping in and trying to pull Sam out of the car would only end up in him drowning too. Shaking his head violently at the word 'drowning' in his own mind Gene shakes his subordinates off.

"I'm all right!" He snaps at them and stares hard at the canal.

Only the back end of the car is still showing out of the water, one tail light and a tire peaking up. Gene stares hard, Ray and Chris somewhere behind him. The canal rushes on around the car, nothing but the sound of water now.

"Come on, Sam," he mutters.

Any second he's going to see Sam's head come out of the water, hear him bitch and moan about his car and his jacket being ruined. Any second Sam's going to be there and be his annoying, beautiful self.

"Come on…" Gene says again to himself. "Come on, Sam."

But Sam's head doesn't appear. Nothing happens but the rain. It feels like some sappy 40's movie with the love interest tragically lost to the water or a James Bond film where Sam is the defeated villain after the high speed fancy car chase. Gene grits his teeth and wants to punch something, to hurt someone, to fucking kill someone. Sam has to appear, he just has to!

"Come on, Sam, God damn it!" Gene screams finally throwing up his arms as if he's screaming right to the heavens.

Then he growls in rage, tearing off his driving gloves and hurling them at the ground because they're the only things he's got on him to throw. He turns away from the river and puts a hand over his eyes, one on his hip. This cannot be fucking happening.

"He should have waited," Ray says after a silence. "You told him to wait for us!"

Gene sighs but doesn't even acknowledge Ray's words. What fuck good would it do now to debate about it?

"It is awful hard to see in this rain," Chris says lamely and Gene almost laughs through the anger.

"Bloody twat…" Ray mutters.

Gene spins and punches Ray in the jaw so fast he doesn't even realize he's done it until Ray is on the ground and Chris grabs him by the arm. Both are staring at him in surprise but don't say anything.

Gene doesn't think he's ever been this angry in his life. There is nothing he wants more than to beat Ray until he's covered in blood, to throw Chris off him and just hurt Ray or hurt Chris, to do anything to get this feeling out of him. Rationally Gene knows it's not Ray's fault and he holds himself back. Still he just wants to do something. He wants to knock Sam in the head and tell him what an idiot he is for doing this but Sam's not here. Sam is the reason he feels ready to go insane. It's Sam's car in the canal; It's Sam not standing beside him; It's the rain clouding his vision, filling the river ever higher and Sam not laughing with him now that is making Gene want to scream and scream and scream. Sam's not here and Gene doesn't know what to do because he simply won't believe it.

Gene turns and looks back at the canal again. Nothing has changed and Gene can feel himself starting to shake.

"Sam!" He shouts a final time at the water, knowing he'll get nothing back.

Slowly Gene crouches down on his haunches and falls back until he's sitting on the wet ground, arms propped on his knees. He stares at the fast churning water. Gene swears he's never seen the canal this violent. Normally it's simply a calm thing working at making the city have a scenic appearance for tourists. Today it's an enemy that's won the fight spurned on by the relentless rain.

Gene can feel Chris standing close behind him. The boy probably is trying to think of something to say, attempting to make sure his DCI hasn't gone off the deep end with this.

"Call the station," Gene mumbles to him. "Tell them to get some more bloody officers out here so we can fish him out."

"Yes, Gov," Chris says quietly and walks away.

For the first time that day Gene is glad of the rain as he feels hot tears leak out of his eyes.


End file.
